The Old Home Place

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One of the great things about being a music writer is finding music from all over the world. All it takes is a couple emails and you can get music from just about anywhere - like Australia. Scooter D. is a singer-songwriter from Australia who recently released a CD called The Old Home Place.

courtesy of Scooter D

The album begins with "Simple Man Writing Simple Songs", an aptly-named song that provides a good character sketch of the artist. These are simple songs - just a man with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica - and that is part of the beauty of this album. Sometimes it's good to strip away everything but the basics. While simple is a good way to describe the songs on this album, a better way to describe them is campfire songs. It's easy to imagine Scooter sitting by a campfire strumming and singing these songs while other people roast marshmallows or hot dogs.

Scooter proves that even simple songs can be funny with the song "Do Not Spill My Tipple". This is a song about that grave sin of spilling a drink. While sitting in a tavern, the narrator of this song advises any passersby not to nudge his table and therefore spill his drink. Hey, Scooter just sings what every drinker thinks.

Scooter has a way of making his songs seem like a slice of life. A great example of this is "Real Deep Water". This is a story about how lazy day on the farm takes a turn when the sheriff calls. After the phone call, two boys pack a bag and go on the lam. This is a good story song with a classic theme explored in songs like "Wanted Man" by Johnny Cash.

This Australian shows himself to be a good songwriter with songs that just feel like everyday life. The Old Home Place is available now at Scooter's website - trippin-on-the-strings.com.

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Gary is a music fanatic, highlighting the best in OC bands, venues, and music events. He has written about music for 10 years and interviewed countless artists, including Grammy nominees Bettye Lavette and Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon. In addition to his work with Examiner, he publishes a monthly online independent music magazine called Incognito Music, Models, and More.
He is the author of three volumes of Uncle Sal Chronicles:
A Gopher I Couldn't Defuse, The Pickled Hand of Nate, and Stocking on Levin's Floor.